Understanding and management of vascular anomalies has always been intriguing. These
disorders exhibit an expected pattern of clinical presentation and progression, and
characteristic imaging findings. Significant progress in understanding and treating
patients with vascular anomalies has been made in the past quarter century. Newer
multidisciplinary domains for treating these disorders with medical drugs and less
invasive image-guided or surgical procedures are constantly evolving. Vascular anomalies
can exhibit aggressive tumor-like behavior resulting in recurrence or persistent symptoms
after treatment. Thermal ablation has been widely used in tumor treatment. This has
generated interest on using thermal ablation for treating vascular anomalies. Percutaneous
image-guided cryoablation is increasingly used for this purpose as compared with other
ablation technologies. Availability of small caliber cryoprobes and the ability to
monitor the freeze zone in real time have made this an attractive option to interventional
radiologists. These experiences are relatively new and limited. It is helpful to understand
the emerging role of this technology in the treatment of vascular anomalies.
Keywords
vascular malformations - vascular anomalies - percutaneous image-guided cryoablation
- cryotherapy - interventional radiology
